MOSCOW, July 17 (Itar-Tass) — Sanctions against Tehran imposed by the United States and the European Union will enhance Russian-Iranian cooperation, Iran’s Ambassador to Russia Seyed Mahmoud-Reza Sajjadi said on Tuesday in his opening remarks to the first Russian-Iranian business forum organized by Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
“Iran in defiance of the West has not stopped its development,” he said. “We search for new markets to export our produce.”
The ambassador highlighted that Iran’s pharmaceutics and agricultural sector could be interesting for Russia’s business community and that there are good prospects for regional cooperation.
Along with this Sajjadi admitted that the potential of economic cooperation between the two countries remains not fully tapped.
“Iran’s share in Russia’s foreign trade makes up 0.5 percent, while that of Russia in Iran’s trade output – 2.5 percent,” he said. Nevertheless, “the support of the two countries’ authorities and a good level of political dialogue create a favorable platform for stepping up trade and economic cooperation.”
The head of the international cooperation department of Russia’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Sergei Vasilyev, in turn, described Iran as “Russia’s important partner in the Middle East.”
“The bilateral trade still totals 4 billion dollars a year. However, we need to expand cooperation, in particular this concerns high technologies,” he said.
The first Russian-Iranian forum will last in Moscow until July 19.